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Add change detection and watermark tracking to extractors #507

@ravisuhag

Description

@ravisuhag

Context

Meteor currently extracts everything on every run. For high-volume sources, this is wasteful and slow. Change detection allows extractors to emit only what changed since the last run.

Scope

  • Define a watermark/checkpoint interface that extractors can implement
  • Store watermarks between runs (local file, config store, or Compass state)
  • Update high-volume extractors to support incremental extraction:
    • BigQuery — use INFORMATION_SCHEMA timestamps for modified tables
    • Postgres/MySQL — track schema modification timestamps
    • Kafka — track topic configuration changes
  • Emit change type metadata on records: created, updated, deleted
  • Fall back to full extraction when no watermark exists

Design Considerations

  • Watermark storage should be pluggable (local file for dev, remote store for production)
  • Full extraction should remain available as a fallback or explicit mode
  • Change detection accuracy varies by source — document limitations per extractor

Why

Incremental extraction reduces load on sources, shrinks payloads, and enables faster refresh cycles. A graph that updates in minutes instead of hours is significantly more useful for AI agents.

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